Food as Care Infrastructure: A Framework for Alternative Food Networks in the Neighbourhood of Jane and Finch, Toronto

Abstract

This thesis examines the conventional food system and its relationship to urban issues, including food insecurity and climate change. The conventional food system is embedded in a centralized global market that commodifies food, relying on the excessive extraction of natural resources, fossil fuel use, genetic modification, chemical-intensive production, exploitation of cheap labour, and destruction of natural habitats. This system was conceived in the Industrial Age when food landscapes in cities diminished in the wake of industrial agriculture. This marked the beginning of the urban-rural dichotomy, where food production was attributed as a rural issue and not an urban one, severing the relationship between urban consumers and their food. Issues of pollution, poverty and malnutrition were prevalent in that period, leading social activists and visionaries to reimagine city landscapes with more equitable food landscapes. As such, this thesis explores the diverse spatial potential of existing (sub)urban landscapes to address challenges exacerbated by the conventional food system on its consumers and the climate. This is demonstrated through research on the implementation of municipal food policies and various scales of food infrastructure, which have the potential to address the gaps left by the conventional food system. This research is emphasized through a conceptual design proposal in the Black Creek neighbourhood in Jane-Finch, Toronto, which suffers from unprecedented levels of food insecurity. The design illustrates the potential for alternative food networks at the neighbourhood scale, featuring a Community Food Centre and farm at its heart to foster a more sustainable and resilient local food system focused on consumer well-being and environmental health.